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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. vault — a safe
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. chair — a leader
  10. bark — to shout
  11. wind — moving air
  12. cell — a phone
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. drill — army training
  16. face — to confront
  17. face — to point toward
  18. drill — a practice
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. cell — in biology
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. drill — the tool
  23. face — part of the head
  24. wind — moving air

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com